


The Smell of Magic

by ContraryNonsense



Series: Dream Store [2]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But Still Kinda Angsty, Drama, Dreams, Fantasy, Hinted Socky, I lied, Less Angsty and Dark Than Part 1, M/M, Magic, Mild Language, Moon Bin is Special, there's fluff too, will update tags as needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-11-10 22:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11135811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ContraryNonsense/pseuds/ContraryNonsense
Summary: Moon Bin has been a little different than other people all his life. But he can deal with that. What he can't deal with is the conundrum that is Lee Dongmin. Determined to figure it out, Bin turns to some magic in a bottle...





	1. Human?

**Author's Note:**

> I am back in record time! I just... really needed to write. I've realized it's a good stress relief. This is a continuation of my previous story Loop! It would help to read that, though you could get through without it. Some stuff might get lost on you though. Warning that one is real angsty and dark, though it ends happily! This one is significantly less depressing. It's also a little outside my comfort zone, as this strays into solid AU territory. I may or may not have made up a world to go along with the plot. This first chapter is a lot of exposition so it feels a bit fast paced. :/ I don't know how people will feel, so I hope you enjoy it! The update schedule on this one might be a little slower than Loop. (I'm not sure how I feel about the title, but I guess it's fine..?)
> 
> (EDIT) Mildly regret posting this in one go, but oh well. That's what I get for writing on emotions. Live and learn!

Bin liked to think he had a super power. It wasn’t super useful, and it unfortunately did not allow him to fight crime, but it was certainly not something most people could do. Bin had a very unique sense of smell. Ever since he was little he had the ability to smell things other people couldn’t. And it wasn’t that smells were stronger; he could smell the essence of people.

For example, his band mates. Jinwoo smelled like a shampoo or soap and Myungjun smelled like green tea. But beyond each labeling scent he could read which smells went together, and variations on the scents let him know the state of the person. As such, he could smell from a mile away that their lovely leader and eldest harbored hardcore crushes. Though he did think it was strange that from one day to the next it amplified like tenfold. 

But there was one person he could never figure out: Lee Dongmin. He had absolutely no smell. Bin liked to jokingly compare him to a robot, but at this point he wouldn’t be surprised if he was. No one could possibly be that perfect. His face, his body, his voice, his face, his personality, his face (has he mentioned his face?)… everything was perfect. Bin had a sneaking suspicion that he was biased, but that did not deny Dongmin’s unreal qualities. 

Bin had never come across another person without a smell, and it drove his curiosity crazy that he had no idea the reason behind it. He had even gotten so frustrated that he straight up asked Dongmin about it once. That was a very interesting conversation…

.  
.  
.  
“Hey, hyung.” Bin said as he marched straight up to Dongmin. They were alone in the room.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“What is wrong with you?” 

“Excuse me?” Dongmin asked, startled.

“What are you? An alien? Actually a robot? What?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Well you don’t seem human.” Dongmin looked more confused by the second.

“I am as far as I know.”

“Then why don’t you have a smell?!”

“…What?”

“Everyone has a smell! I’ve never met anyone without a smell before. So therefore, you must not be human.”

“I’m starting to doubt you are.”

“I’m human! I think.” Bin didn’t think it was possible but Dongmin’s face turned even more bewildered.

“Wait, you think?”

“Well I mean I know I’m not normal, but neither are you!”

“What even is this conversation? Bin are you feeling alright? Did you get enough sleep last night?”

“I slept fine, don’t change the subject!”

“I’m sincerely concerned though.” Bin was starting to think this was a really bad idea. Either Dongmin was a master liar or he really had no idea what Bin was talking about. And now he looked crazy. 

“I’m fine, there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Then what the hell is this all about? What’s this about smells?”

“I said earlier. Everyone has a smell, and you don’t, so I got frustrated.” Bin mumbled, progressively getting more self-conscious.

“So what are you saying you can tell people apart by smell?”

“That’s one thing I can do yes.”

“One thing?”

“I can also smell if people go well together or not and their emotions.” Dongmin stilled. 

“Seriously?” Bin nodded. “How can you do that?”

“I don’t know, I just can.”

“How long have you been able to do that?”

“Since I was little, I don’t remember exactly.”

“So you say I don’t have a scent? What do other people smell like?” 

“Well uh, everyone smells different.” Bin was unsure of what to make of all of Dongmin’s questions. Did Dongmin actually believe him? “I mean, Rocky smells like seafood, Sanha smells like a baby, stuff like that.”

“And how does that tell you things about them?”

“When the smell changes. Hold up, do you believe me?”

“Well sure. What, are you lying to me?”

“No, but it isn’t exactly something that is very believable.”

“I mean it’s rather bizarre, but it would explain a lot; like how you always seem to know who is behind you. Or how you seem to know when someone’s upset before they do. I think it’s really cool!” Bin could feel his cheeks heating. Then he smiled. 

“Thanks Eunwoo.” 

“S-sure.” Dongmin looked a bit pink himself. 

“Err, I know I told you pretty easily, but could you not mention it to anyone?” Eunwoo blinked.

“Sure, if that’s what you want. I think the others would probably believe you though.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Bin smiled ruefully. 

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say people don’t generally like it when they can’t hide things.” Dongmin seemed to catch the drift of his words and frowned. 

“I won’t tell anyone. You have my word.”

“Thanks Minnie!” Bin said with a smile, then quickly hurried out of the room, the sputtering sounds of Dongmin following him.

.  
.  
.  
To this day Dongmin had kept his word. In fact, he had become even more protective of his secret than Bin. Bin looked over to the other end of the couch where his feet were resting on Dongmin’s lap. He was reading a book. 

“Hey Minnie.”

“Hmm?” Dongmin replied, not looking up from his book.

“Want to go out with me?”

Dongmin fumbled his book and looked over so fast his neck cracked. Rubbing it, he asked:

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Go out with me to the store, I want to buy some pocky and Myungjun will throw a fit if anyone leaves alone.” 

“Oh, that’s what you… yeah sure.” Bin chuckled. Dongmin was still so easy to fluster, it was adorable.

“What did you think I meant?” 

“Nothing, let’s go.”

Bin just laughed as his feet were pushed off and Dongmin walked away blushing.

  


* * *

  


“I thought you just wanted pocky?” Dongmin said, looking at the full bag in Bin’s hand as they walked home. 

“MJ wanted some things too.”

“Why didn’t he come too then?”

“Apparently JinJin refuses to let him go to this convenience store. Calls it a beacon for trouble.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Well I wasn’t going to argue. You know how protective JinJin is of MJ.”

“Was he always like that?”

“No, it started around the time they started dating. Here, hold this a sec, I need to text MJ and let him know we are on our way back.” 

“What all did you even get?” Dongmin asked, opening the bag. A lot of junk food from the looks of it. They’d have to hide it from their manager. “You do know we aren’t allowed half of this right?” There was no answer. Dongmin looked up. “Binnie?” Bin was nowhere to be seen. “Bin, where’d you go?” Dongmin looked up and down the street, calling out for Bin. “Moonbin! Come out! This isn’t funny!” He was starting to panic. People don’t just disappear like that. He pulled out his phone and tried calling, but received no answer. Desperate, he called a different number. 

“Hello?”

“JinJin-hyung, Moonbin’s disappeared.”

  


* * *

  


Bin looked around. Dongmin had disappeared. So had the rest of the people for that matter. And the street. Actually, thinking about it he was probably the one who moved, not the rest of the street. But where was he? He had blinked and suddenly was somewhere very different. Huh. Maybe Jinwoo had a point. They should find a new convenience store to go to.

Speaking of stores, there was a strange café looking store up ahead with a rainbow sign. It was the only thing that looked open for miles. Nothing else to lose, Bin decided to go in. Inside was in fact a café, along with several plants and a massive wall of bottles in various colors and shapes. But that’s not what Bin noticed first. No, the first thing he noticed was the smell. It was overpowering, and seemed to emanate from the building itself. There were so many scents, he could hardly breathe. What was this? 

Just as he was about to flee outside, another door opened and a small petite woman appeared. She carried herself with a mysterious, graceful air that disappeared quickly when she saw him practically gagging in the middle of her store. Her eyes scanned him, then quickly hurried to the back and came back out with a face mask, waving her hand over it and mumbling.

She hurried over to him and held it out to him. “Here, put this on it should help.” Bin immediately grabbed it and put it on, taking shuddering relieved breaths as the smell almost disappeared. He looked at her.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, but what’s an Olfae doing going into a dream store without protection?”

“…A what?”

“An Olfae, that’s what you are aren’t you? Nothing else would have that react-” She broke off, and stared at him with extreme scrutiny. Then her eyes widened. “…Oh my word, you’re human. But that’s not… oh I see, who’s the blithering idiot that did that?”

“Umm, sorry to interrupt, but… what?”

“You’ve got some Olfae magic in you.”

“What’s an Olfae?”

“Part of the Fairy species, they have the ability to perceive and distinguish magic, specifically through scent. Make damn good detectives.”

“And I’m one of those?” He always thought he wasn’t normal, but damn.

“No, you’re one hundred percent human, or at least you were.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means when you were young someone mixed Olfae magic into you. It’s why you have that ridiculous sense of smell. My guess would be an unlicensed dream spinner.” Bin was getting more and more confused. 

“And that is…?”

“Me. Specifically my profession. As dream spinners it is our job to create and sell potions that help people with their problems and reach their dreams. We have to be certified and licensed in order to give our wares to others, due to the extreme and sometimes unpleasant effects they can have.”

“You give potions that have bad effects?”

“Not all the roads to dreams are pleasant.” Bin frowned. He guessed that was true. No pain no gain right?

“You said I was given one of these potions?”

“Not a complete one, probably one made by someone illegally. Hence, instead of having the desired effect it just infused you with Olfae magic.”

“I don’t remember anything like that though?”

“I’m guessing you were young at the time, it’s become completely ingrained. Essentially you are a fraction Olfae now.”

“So what I smell is magic? Are humans magic?”

“To a degree yes, all humans have a little magic in them. Not enough to do anything, so they don’t really interact with the magic community, but it’s there.”

“And why does your store smell so terrible?” Bin jumped as the building let out a cracking groan. The shopkeeper looked up, seemingly at the ceiling.

“Oh hush you big baby, you know Olfaes can’t stand the smell here.” She looked back at Bin. “To answer your question, my shop is made of magic, and all those bottles over there contain a fair amount as well. Anything that is sensitive to magic usually has to wear protection in here.”

“…did your building just get offended?”

“Yes. It’s very sensitive, don’t let it get to you.”

“Are all buildings alive?” She let out a somewhat wry grin.

“Mine’s special.”

“I see…” Bin muttered, when it was clear she wasn’t going to clarify. 

“So, what can I help you with? Besides breathing.”

“What makes you think I need help?”

“My shop doesn’t appear for just anyone, even the magical. It has to deem you in need of my help. So, what do you need help with?"

“I don’t know, getting home?”

“Why does everyone want directions? You’ll be right where you were before you found my store when you leave. No, you are here for a different reason.” Bin thought for a minute, scrunching his face. Then something occurred to him.

“What does it mean when someone doesn’t have a smell?" A pained expression briefly flitted over the shopkeepers face.

“It means they have no magic.” 

“Is that common?”

“Not really, all living things have magic, even humans.” 

“What does it mean when they don’t have magic?”

“It means either they had their magic taken from them by something, or they are not really alive.” Bin felt his heart stop. 

“Are those the only options?”

“Well, I suppose the world has endless possibilities, but I can’t really think of any other reasons.”

“How can I know for sure?” She opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted when the building seemed to shudder. She turned around and looked at the wall of bottles.

“What? Why would I give him a potion? He already has an odd blend of magic running through him.” Something red fell from up high, and the shopkeeper barely made it over in time to catch it. She looked up with a frown. “Watch it you hunk of wood! Those are a lot of work to make!” She then looked down at the bottle, studying it. It was a seemingly normal bottle, though the liquid inside was a bright red and seemed to shimmer. 

The building let out another creak. “No, I don’t know how this will affect him. I can’t condone giving a product when I am uncertain of the results!” The plants rustled and the bottles clinked a bit, as if shaken by an invisible wind. “Fine, but I hold no responsibility for it!” She whipped around and slammed the bottle on the counter. My store claims that this bottle will be able to give you all your answers, but I am not going to recommend it. However, it is up to you if you want to drink it.”

“All my answers?” He looked at the bottle. His curiosity was burning stronger than it ever had before. And Dongmin… Bin looked up at the ceiling. “How sure are you of this?” The building gave a shudder, it smelled pleased. “Good enough for me!” Bin grabbed the bottle off the counter and downed it. It tasted like cough medicine mixed with sprite. Bin forced it down anyway. 

.  
.  
.  


As he headed toward the door, Bin stopped and turned toward the shopkeeper. “How do I come back if I have another question?” She smiled sadly.

“You can’t. No one can return to my store a second time.”

“What, why?”

“It’s not good to live in dreams. And as I’ve said, it’s dangerous to mix potions.”

“That sounds lonely.”

“It’s alright.” She shrugged. “I have my store.” Bin watched her for a second, and then thrust his hand out.

“My name is Moon Bin, what’s yours?” The shopkeeper looked at his hand in surprise, then slowly shook it. 

“…Alice.”

“Well Alice, we are now friends! Same goes to you store, so you better let me come back!” He gave her a grin. “See you later!” He stepped out the door, closing it behind him. She stood staring at it. 

“…That cheeky little brat, I’m older!”


	2. Bin Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin has a long talk with Myungjun, Jinwoo, and Dongmin. He learns some things he's not sure he wanted to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So this chapter is slower and more dialogue heavy than the first one, and doesn't have as much happen. But it has some much needed plot set up! ^.^ I think I've worked out most of the kinks. There is going to be some strong drama, though I wouldn't classify it as angst? Anyway, enjoy!

True to her word, Bin found himself right where he had disappeared, though Dongmin was no longer in sight. Frowning, Bin checked his phone and saw several missed calls and texts from Dongmin. There were even some from Myungjun and Jinwoo. Rather than call them back, Bin decided he would rather deal with them in person. 

When Bin got home, he was immediately greeted with the sight of a frantic Dongmin, Jinwoo, and Myungjun. The second he was spotted Dongmin gave out a cry of relief and glomped him so hard he barely managed to stay standing. 

“Bin! Oh thank God you are alright. You just disappeared and I didn’t know what to do and-”

“Minnie, it’s okay I’m fine, calm down!”

“Are you though?” Myungjun asked, giving him a searching look.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to ask something, and you need to be completely honest with me. Did you drink something?” Bin jolted in surprise. How did Myungjun know about that?

“…Yes.” Myungjun’s face turned despairing and he shared a look with Jinwoo.

“You absolute idiot, you shouldn’t be so trusting!” Bin was offended. He wasn’t stupid! Just curious.

“Hey! What did I do?”

“Drinking a magic concoction by some strange witch in a weird café is a stupid move! I should know!” Bin’s mouth hung open. 

“You know Alice?” That startled Myungjun. 

“Alice? Who’s Alice?”

“The dream spinner.”

“The what?”

“The person who runs the dream store? I thought you went there!”

“I went to a weird store where an even weirder lady tricked me with promises of ultimate happiness into drinking pure hell!”

“That doesn’t sound like Alice. She was actually rather against me drinking it. The store insisted.”

“The store-?” Myungjun now looked very confused. So did Jinwoo for that matter. And Dongmin looked lost beyond belief. 

“Wait I have no idea what’s going on, someone explain it to me.” Dongmin complained.

“To be honest I’ve gotten rather lost myself.” Jinwoo admitted. 

“Alright, let’s take this from the top. Bin, explain what happened to you.” Myungjun ordered. Bin though about it for a minute. If that’s the case he would have to explain his sense of smell. But they would probably believe him, and it was Myungjun and Jinwoo. They wouldn’t desert him over it. He nodded.

“Well, I was just walking down the street like normal with Dongmin, we were coming back from the convenience store.”

“That’s it I’m banning anyone from going to that convenience store.” Jinwoo mumbled. Bin gave him a look and continued.

“Then out of nowhere, I’m no longer on the street and everyone has disappeared. There’s this store up ahead with a rainbow sign, and I go in.” Myungjun frowned, but said nothing. “Inside is like a café with all these plants and weird bottles. But it absolutely reeks of magic in there. The smell was so strong I couldn’t breathe.”

“Magic? Wait what?” Myungjun interupted. It Dongmin who shushed him and signaled for Bin to continue. Jinwoo looked between the two of them and narrowed his eyes. 

“Then this small petite girl comes out of a door. I don’t think she was expecting to see me. She leaves and comes back with a face mask. It made the smell so much more bearable.” He pulled out the mask that he had shoved in his back pocket. “Here, see?” Myungjun took it and studied it.

“It looks normal to me.”

“But it helps immensely. I can’t even smell your gross love if I have it on.”

“Wait what?”

“You mentioned something like that before. I brushed it off at the time, but you literally could smell us couldn’t you?” Jinwoo broke in. Bin shared a nervous look with Dongmin and nodded. Jinwoo pointed at Dongmin. “And you knew. You distracted me when I was about to ask.” Dongmin nodded as well.

“Wait, what?” Jinwoo patted Myungjun’s shoulder. 

“You sound like a broken record.” 

“Well then somebody explain what you’re talking about!”

“I can smell magic.” Bin started. Dongmin looked at him. “I didn’t know that’s what I smelled before, but I’ve been able to do it since I was little. Everyone has a scent, and how the smell blends and changes around people can tell me about how well they work together, or their emotions. The more powerful the emotion, the stronger the smell. According to Alice it’s because I am overly sensitive to magic.” Bin decided to leave out that he wasn’t entirely human.

“So wait, are you saying I have magic in me?” Myungjun asked.

“Everyone does. Just in different amounts.”

“And you’re saying that you could smell the fact that Jinwoo and I were in love?”

“Yes. It was grossly strong. Though it increased dramatically after you slept the whole day.” Jinwoo and Myungjun shared a look that Bin couldn’t decipher, and their smell turned sharply sour for a split second. Then before Bin could question it the smell returned to normal and Myungjun was grinning at Jinwoo. 

“Aww, our love is strong enough to make Bin gag.”

“You don’t need his sense of smell to gag at it. You two are ridiculous.” Dongmin jabbed, but he was smiling. Jinwoo turned back to Bin. 

“Alright, so senses are no longer overloading, what happened next?”

“Well, we talked for a while and she explained that she is a dream spinner, and her job is to help people realize their dreams. Even if the path there isn’t pleasant.” Myungjun scowled.

“Sure as hell wasn’t.” 

“She actually didn’t want to give me a potion. Said I had too much weird magic in me already. Her store decided otherwise and made her get this red potion. She told me it was my choice to take it or not, but she wouldn’t be responsible for the consequences. She didn’t know exactly what it would do.”

“And you decided to drink it?” Dongmin asked, incredulous.

“The building was very convincing!” Jinwoo frowned. 

“This argument sounds familiar. Why do you keep talking about the building like it’s alive though?”

“Because it is.” 

“What?!” Myungjun sputtered.

“Real sensitive too. Got offended when I said it smelled bad.”

“So wait, you decided to trust a living building trying to give you non-recommended magic after you offended it?” Jinwoo deadpanned.

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” Jinwoo pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What is wrong with you guys? Why do these thoughts never occur to anyone?”

“Hey!” Bin and Myungjun exclaimed at the same time.

“What did you think the potion would do?” Dongmin interrupted.

“The store said it would answer all of my questions. And I was curious.”

“You and your curiosity. It’s going to get you killed one of these days!” 

“I’ll be fine! Right MJ? You’re fine and you drank a potion.” Bin looked at Myungjun for support. Instead he found a very dark faced Myungjun and Jinwoo. The sharp sour smell had returned and was more powerful. It reminded Bin of sulfur.

“Bin… I died.”

“…what?”

“I literally died, over and over. When I drank that potion my life turned into a living hell. I woke up to the same day every morning and I died by nightfall. I was trapped in this loop for months. Eventually I got to the point where I didn’t even want to live anymore. I thought staying dead would be preferable.” He took a shuddering breath, Jinwoo was gripping his hand. “I did something really stupid. Jinwoo saw. After that though he remembered, and the loops finally stopped. I have theories, but I have no idea why exactly they stopped. But I do know that I would never want to go through that again.”

The room had fallen silent. Bin and Dongmin stared in horror at Myungjun. Was… was that really what happened? He could suddenly understand with sickening clarity why Jinwoo was so damn protective, and why they had been so worried about him drinking a potion.

“….I’m so sorry.” Myungjun shook his head.

“It’s okay, there was no way you could have known. But now do you understand why I was so upset? I thought just like you did, and it resulted in the worst experience I have ever and will ever have in my life! I don’t want the same to happen to you.”

“I haven’t noticed anything different.”

“You won’t, not until it happens. I had to die twice before I figured it out.”

“Are you sure I’ll die? That can’t be the effect of all the potions.”

“You’re right, mine was purple, not red. But just because it isn’t the same as mine doesn’t mean that the effects won’t be just as bad or worse.” Myungjun sighed and looked Bin in the eyes. “I just hope I’m wrong and nothing bad happens.”

There was another moment of quiet, and then Jinwoo stood up and dragged Myungjun with him. 

“Hey, what-?” Myungjun started.

“I think we should give them a moment.” Jinwoo stated with a pointed look at Dongmin. He continued to drag Myungjun out of the room, closing the door with a click. Bin looked over and was greeted with the sight of a pale and shaking Dongmin.

“Minnie? Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? I should be asking you that! You could die! Or worse! I didn’t even know there was a worse!”

“Calm down, we don’t know for certain that’s what’s going to happen.”

“But we don’t know that it’s not!” Dongmin suddenly lurched forward and hugged him. “I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you Binnie.” Bin felt the blush blooming on his face. He returned the hug.

“Well, no matter what happens we’ll be there for each other right?” He felt Dongmin nod. Bin thought back to the real reason he decided to take that potion. He’d be there for Dongmin, no matter what he really was. He tightened the hug.

  


* * *

  


That night, Bin had a dream. He dreamed of a little girl, standing in front of a burning house, crying her eyes out. He wanted to go to her, and comfort her, but he couldn’t move. The smell of the smoke and fire was overwhelming, and made him cough. Then with horror he recognized another smell among the smoke. The smell of something cooking. He wanted to hurl. Suddenly, another person in a cloak appeared, small and petite, and led the little girl away from the fire; toward him. As they passed by him Bin realized two things:

The person in the cloak smelled heavily of magic, and the little girl had no smell at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've come to the sinking realization that I write dark better than fluff. I will try to keep it balanced! Also, I may or may not have spent all of yesterday writing a completely different story. It's another somewhat angsty Myungjin (what does my imagination have against them being happy?) set in a completely different universe. It would be a longer chaptered fic. Would people be interested in having that upload simultaneously with this one or wait until I'm done with this one? Let me know what you think and what you thought of the chapter! Thank you and I will see all you lovely people in the next chapter!


	3. Meeting Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin finds some comfort in Dongmin and has another dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, not going to lie this chapter was being a pain in the butt. It was stubbornly refusing to be written. So uh, some more happens, and there is some fluff. Not my greatest to be honest. The next chapter is going better. And I will most likely post my other Myungjin story once this one ends. I might post it along with the last part of this series, which will be Socky. That one... is weird. I will leave it at that. Anyway, enjoy this slightly shorter chapter!

Bin woke with a start, gasping for air. He couldn’t breathe. He could still smell it. The smell of smoke, of burning wood and flesh; the smell of magic. It was in his nose, his lungs, his eyes; everywhere. He felt acid in his throat. He sprung out of bed and rushed to the restroom; concerned cries followed from Dongmin, who had already woken up and was getting ready. Bin sprinted and barely reached the toilet in time, retching up his dinner from the previous night. He felt a hand rubbing his back as he finally stopped and sat panting over the bowl. 

“Are you alright?” Dongmin asked, worry dripping from his voice. Bin nodded, but a shiver went down his spine. The bathroom door opened wider and Rocky walked in, holding a glass of water. 

“Here hyung, drink this.” Bin accepted the glass gratefully and took small sips, soothing the burning in his throat. Dongmin felt his forehead.

“Well you don’t have a fever, though you really don’t look that well.”

“I’ll go wake the others, so you can stay here Eunwoo.” Minhyuk offered, already leaving the room. Once he was gone, Eunwoo looked back at Bin.

“What happened?”

“…I could still smell it. It was everywhere Minnie. There was smoke, and fire, and the little girl was crying, and I couldn’t move and then all I could smell was magic and people. Oh God… I could smell the people Eunwoo.” Bin started shaking. He wanted to hurl again. “They were burning. I-I couldn’t escape the smell. Even when I woke up it was still there.”

“What? Wait, calm down Binnie. I’m not following what you’re saying.”

“I-I had a dream. I think. I mean I woke up so it must have been, but it was awful. It felt so real. I could feel the heat of the flames, and her crying was so loud.”

“And you could smell things?”

“It was like I was there. Only, I couldn’t interact or do anything.” Dongmin took his now empty water glass and set it next to them. Then he pulled Bin forward into a hug and held him until he calmed down. He pulled back.

“Come on, I’m sure the others are worried. And you know JinJin and MJ will have questions.”

“You think it was because of the potion?”

“Most likely. It didn’t sound like a normal dream.” Dongmin helped him up from the floor and they made their way to the kitchen, where the other members were waiting and worried.

“Are you alright? What happened?” Jinwoo immediately asked. 

“Something he had last night didn’t agree with him.” Dongmin answered, giving a pointed look at Jinwoo and Myungjun. They seemed to catch his drift and frowned. 

“Wow that really sucks.” Sanha exclaimed.

“Will you be alright for rehearsal today?” asked Minhyuk. Bin nodded.

“Yeah, I’m feeling better. I just need to rest a bit more.”

“Do you think you can stomach breakfast?” Myungjun spoke up. Bin thought about it. Honestly the thought of food was mildly sickening. He was in fact feeling better, the smell had faded. But the memory of it still lingered. He didn’t think he could stand meat for a while. Jinwoo seemed to sense his hesitation.

“How about just some juice?” Bin nodded. He could handle that. 

“Alright, make sure you take it easy today. Sanha could you get him some juice? I need to talk with Eunwoo a bit.” Jinwoo left the kitchen followed by Eunwoo. 

In the hallway, out of earshot from the others, Jinwoo turned and gave Dongmin a hard look. “Alright, what really happened?”

“Bin had a pretty nasty dream last night from what I could gather.”

“And it made him throw up?”

“He said it was if he was really there. He could hear feel and smell everything that was going on, though he said he couldn’t interact with anything.”

“And what was happening?”

“Um, to be honest I didn’t drill that too hard, he was pretty shaken. But from what I could gather there was something on fire, a little girl crying, and-” Dongmin broke off.

“What?”

“…the smell of people burning.” Jinwoo’s face turned horrified. “I think that’s what made him throw up. He said he could still smell all of it when he woke up.” 

“…and you think it has to do with the potion?”

“He said he could smell magic. And honestly it doesn’t sound like it was a normal dream.”

“Alright. We’ll have to keep an eye on him. Let me know if anything else happens, okay?”

“I will.”

  


* * *

  


Upon finding out that Bin had thrown up, their manager decided that they were being overworked and let them have only a half day rehearsal. Leaving the rest of the evening free to relax and work on their own things. 

Bin found himself once again on the couch with Dongmin, his feet on Dongmin’s lap and Dongmin trying to focus on his book, though Bin could tell he was distracted. He kept glancing over when he thought Bin wasn’t looking. His concern was cute. 

Bin thought back to his dream. It had been on his mind all morning and had yet to make heads or tails of it. Who were they? How were they important? If the dream was because of the potion, then why was it giving him more questions than answers? Did it have something to do with Dongmin?

Bin was so lost in his questions that he failed to notice Dongmin trying to get his attention until he was physically being shaken. He blinked and looked at Dongmin’s concerned face.

“Bin!”

“Sorry, what?”

“Are you alright? You weren’t answering me.”

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I can’t come up with anything cohesive anyway.”

“Well, if you need anything let me know.” Bin was about to agree when a thought occurred to him.

“Hey Minnie, there actually is something you could do for me.”

“Name it.”

“Cuddle with me.” Dongmin’s face turned red and he started sputtering. 

“Excuse me?”

“Cuddle with me.” Bin pulled out a sad pouty face. “Please?”

“Ah, err, I mean… sure?” Bin grinned and scooted over until he was right next to Dongmin. He laid his head on Dongmin’s shoulder and curled into his side. Dongmin’s arm hovered for a bit, unsure, before resting around Bin’s shoulders. They sat like this for a while in silence, enjoying the closeness. At some point Dongmin started absentmindedly playing with Bin’s hair. 

“…Hey Minnie?”

“Hmm?”

“You won’t ever leave me right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, no matter what happens or what we learn you won’t leave me?”

“Of course not. What brought this on?”

“…I wanted answers, and I’m no longer sure I’m going to like them.”

“And you think that would drive me away somehow?”

“I don’t know. I just want to be sure that I will never lose you. You mean a lot to me Minnie.” Dongmin pulled him in tighter in a hug.

“You mean a lot to me too. You better promise not to leave me either.”

“Deal.” Bin smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying the comfort and warmth surrounding him that was Dongmin. Eventually he fell asleep, lulled by the return of ministrations to his hair and a sense of security.

  


* * *

  


Bin looked around. This must be another dream. Would this happen every time he fell asleep? He appeared to be in a shop of some sort. It seemed very familiar… and it struck him. It was the dream shop! Only… it looked different. It didn’t have plants everywhere and the massive wall of potions was nowhere to be found. And the smell was gone. The shop that had once smelled so overwhelmingly potent now simply smelled of a little dust. It was so quiet that Bin started to wonder if he was alone. Then the back door opened and a little girl came running out, holding a bottle of colorful liquid.

Bin startled. It was THE girl. The crying one from before with no smell. She looked a few years older, and still didn’t seem to have a smell, if the whiff he got as she ran past was any indication. 

“Mama!” she cried, bouncing up and down next to a seemingly empty wall. Then the wall opened to reveal a door, and a small petite woman stepped out with grace. And Bin found himself startled for the second time. He knew that face. It was identical to the last time he had seen it. She moved to crouch next to the little girl.

“What is it Gretel?” She asked in an amused tone. 

“Look, I made a potion, just like you!”

“Wow, impressive. May mommy look at it?” nodding, Gretel handed it over. She raised it and gave it a scrutinizing look.

“What will it do Mama?” She gave the small excited girl a sad smile.

“Nothing I’m afraid.” Gretel deflated and gave the saddest puppy eyes Bin had ever seen in his life.

“Aww, really?”

“Unfortunately so honey. But don’t worry, dream spinning takes a lot of practice. It takes a while before a potion will work correctly. Why don’t you go keep practicing?” Gretel brightened.

“Okay!” She bounced away, back into the door she came from. 

Her mother straightened up with a sigh. She looked at the bottle again. 

“I’ll her the truth someday. Just not yet. I don’t think either of us are ready for that.” She said softly. Setting the bottle on the counter, she followed after Gretel. As she passed Bin smelled a familiar magic. The door clicked shut behind her, and the store faded, replaced by endless black. 

.  
.  
.  
Bin woke with a start, almost falling off the couch and startling Dongmin. 

“What happened? Are you alright?” Bin turned and looked at him with wide eyes. 

“I saw Alice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, thank you for reading! I'm sorry for the mildly actionless chapter. I'll try to have the next one up soon. Feel free to leave any thoughts, critiques, predictions, etc. I enjoy reading them. ^.^ I will see all you lovely people in the next chapter!


	4. Gretel Learns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin learns a lot, and he really doesn't like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like, this chapter is very angry, and I had this strange feeling that I was writing some sort of K-drama. I don't normally enjoy having OCs be so prevalent in a story, but I've committed dammit! And I do like them a lot, I'm just not sure how others feel about it. Anyway, I am back with more angst, cuddles, and even a bit of Socky! Enjoy!

Bin went to dinner very distracted. His questions were just piling up and he couldn’t make heads or tails of where to even start. If Alice was the stranger in a cloak, than who was this Gretel? How did she fit in to everything? A thought occurred to him. She had no smell, just like Dongmin, so why didn’t Alice mention her when he had asked? A sudden sense of foreboding settled in his stomach. 

“..Hey Bin, you alright? You’ve just been staring at your food.” Minhyuk’s voice broke into his thoughts. He looked up find the rest of the table looking at him in concern. He put on a smile and picked up some food off his plate. 

“I’m fine, just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Your phone photo album third from the top.” Minhyuk turned bright red and started sputtering. 

“What, what? What’s in there?” Myungjun exclaimed, blackmail senses tingling.

“None of your business!” Minhyuk pointed at Myungjun, then at Bin. “Yours either!” Bin grinned. Diversion successful. He felt a tap on his leg under the table. He looked over at Dongmin, who was giving him a stern look. Okay, almost successful. Giving a signal to tell him later, Bin sat back and ate his dinner while watching the comedic scene unfold before him that was Minhyuk trying to defend his phone from Myungjun and a curious Sanha.

.  
.  
.  
“So what is in the third album from the top?” Dongmin asked. They were lounging in their room, lazing before going to sleep. Dongmin was laying on his bed while Bin was on the floor leaning against it, legs stretched out.

“Oh, just pictures of Sanha.”

“Wait really?”

“Yup.”

“An entire album?”

“316 pictures to be exact, though the number might have increased since I looked.”

“Do they…?” Dongmin trailed off.

“Smell? Not as bad as JinJin and MJ, and it’s mostly from Rocky. I think Sanha is kind of oblivious to it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they got together at some point.”

“What the hell? What are the chances that out of a random group of 6 men more than half of them are into each other?”

“Probably pretty low. But you know what they say, birds of a feather flock together!” Dongmin just snorted in response. After that they fell into a comfortable silence. Then Dongmin asked what Bin knew he really been wanting to ask.

“…So what had you so distracted at dinner? Was it the dreams?”

“…Yeah. It’s all so confusing, I just keep coming up with more questions and no answers. And I keep having this feeling of dread, like I’m really not going to like the ending.”

“Do you want to talk about it again?”

“No, I’ve run through it so many times and it’s just making me more confused.”

“…Alright. I’m here if you need me.”

“I know.” Silence settled before Bin spoke up again. “…I don’t want to go to sleep.”

“Why?”

“I think I dream every time I sleep. And I’m scared to see what happens next.”

“…Do you want to sleep with me?” Bin craned his neck to look at Dongmin.

“What?”

“I mean, I can’t really help you in the dream, but I can maybe provide some comfort, so you know, it’s easier…? Only if you want, it’s fine if you don’t. Actually you probably don’t, this is weird isn’t it? I’m sorry.” Dongmin was blushing harder and getting more embarrassed by the second. Instead of responding immediately Bin just climbed into the bed and latched himself around Dongmin.

“…I would love to Minnie.” Dongmin relaxed and wrapped his own arms around Bin. Quickly making a decision, Bin pressed forward and planted a quick peck on Dongmin’s cheek. Dongmin stiffened. “Thank you.” Dongmin just squeezed him tighter and Bin fell asleep listening to the pounding in Dongmin’s chest.

  


* * *

  


He was back in the store. Not much looked different, though a few plants had made an appearance. Alice was in front of the counter looking at a large bottle. It was filled with a glittering substance that Bin couldn’t figure out if it was gas or liquid. Whatever it was smelled really nice. She set the bottle on the counter as the back door opened and Gretel once more came out, though this time she seemed even older. Perhaps ten? 

“Mama, why do none of my potions ever work? And don’t say I need more practice, I want the real answer.” Alice looked at her for a few seconds, before giving out a sigh. 

“Alright. There is a final step to potion making that I never taught you. You need to infuse the finished potion with magic in order for it to work.”

“And how do you that?” Gretel asked excitedly. Alice was silent for a second, seemingly having an internal struggle.

“…You can’t.” she finally admitted.

“…What do you mean I can’t?”

“You don’t have any magic. It’s why I never explained to you how finish a potion.”

“What!? But, you always said I could! You promised that when I got older and had more practice my potions would work!” Gretel was crying, and Bin had flash backs to when he had first seen the little girl. He could almost smell the fire and burning flesh from his memory. Bin let out an unseen shudder. “You promised mama!” The little girl had fallen to the floor, loud sobs echoing.

“Hush my baby, hush. I did and I keep my promises. You might not be able to put any of your own magic in, but I think I’ve found a way for you to make potions.” Alice dropped to the floor and cradled the little girl in her arms. Gretel let out a hiccup and her crying quieted. 

“R-*hic*-eally?”

“Yup. You see that bottle up there? One of my Olfae friends let me collect some of the magic they were shedding. If done correctly, you should be able to use that as a substitute for your own magic.” Bin startled at the term Olfae. That’s what he was part, so he had that glittery stuff in him? Probably why it smelled nice.

“What’s *hic* an Olfae?”

“It’s a type of fairy. They are very magical. So magical in fact that sometimes they have to release excess magic so their senses don’t get overwhelmed.”

“Does that hurt?”

“Nope. It’s just like getting a haircut. And my friend was kind enough to let me have the clippings.” Gretel had stopped crying and was looking with excitement at the bottle. 

“Let me try it!”

“Alright, alright. Come on. Mommy will teach you how.” Alice laughed. They both got off the floor and Gretel ran over to the back door, Alice following with the bottle of magic. As the door shut, the scenery faded to black. 

However, unlike the previous times, Bin felt his stomach lurch as if he suddenly fell. He could feel something shift around him, and when he regained his balance he suddenly found himself once again in the shop. This time the plants had multiplied and Alice seemed to be tending to them. Then the secret wall that Alice had once passed through opened and Gretel stormed out, looking livid. She seemed to be a teenager. Alice turned towards her in surprise.

“Gretel, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?! Explain this!” She thrust out a book, strange lettering on the front that Bin couldn’t even pretend to read. It seemed old. Alice turned pale.

“Did you go through my chest? I forbid you from ever going through there! It holds some very dangerous magic!”

“Don’t try to change the subject! What is this?”

“…It’s the Theory of Life and Magic.”

“And you know what I found out when I read it?” Alice remained silent. “I found out that I’m not alive!” Gretel let out a hysterical laugh, then flipped open the book to a page she had bookmarked. _”Magic is the very essence of life. It is impossible to have one without the other. The presence of magic therefore indicates the presence of life. And inversely, if magic is not present neither is life. No exceptions have ever been discovered, and any to be found are abominations of creation.” _Gretel slammed the book shut. “What am I mother? Or should I even call you that? Is that even what you are?”__

__A heavy silence followed, and Bin’s head was spinning. This was suddenly a lot to take in. So nothing could be alive without magic? But- but then what about Gretel? What about _Dongmin _? Does that mean Dongmin wasn’t alive? Then what was he? What was going on? Alice’s voice broke into his muddled thoughts.___ _

____“I consider you my daughter, and I always will. But no, I am not your biological mother.”_ _ _ _

____“But what am I? And where do I come from?”_ _ _ _

____“You’re human. At least you were, back when I first met you.”_ _ _ _

____“And I’m not anymore?!” Gretel was visibly getting more frustrated._ _ _ _

____“You are, but you aren’t.”_ _ _ _

____“WHAT AM I?!”_ _ _ _

____“YOU’RE DEAD!”_ _ _ _

____Once again silence reigned, somehow even tenser than before. You could hear a pin drop._ _ _ _

____“…I’m what?”_ _ _ _

____“…You’re dead. Or you were. At least, for all intents and purposes.”_ _ _ _

____“What does that mean?”_ _ _ _

____“When you were younger I gave you a potion that unfortunately resulted in your current state of being.” Gretel flared._ _ _ _

____“YOU DID THIS?!”_ _ _ _

____“I HAD NO CHOICE! It… it was the only way to save you.” Gretel recoiled at the force of Alice’s voice. “When I first met you, you were simply a cheerful little girl out with her family for a stroll. You came up and gave me some flowers you had picked. You were so sweet and friendly, and your smile would have made the sun cry. But the next time…” Alice looked down and bit her lip._ _ _ _

____“…what happened?” Gretel whispered, all traces of anger replaced with a fearful expression._ _ _ _

____“The next time I met you was far less happy. You had been possessed by a Lamia, a type of demon that finds a host and uses them to suck the life out of those surrounding them, including the host. They like children; a child’s belief is a powerful gateway.” Alice started pacing. “I sensed a demon nearby, and went after it. By the time I found you, I was too late to save the rest of your family, but I could still try to save you. I used on of the potions I had brought with me. I succeeded in exorcising the Lamia, but it left you with no magic. By some miracle I can’t explain, a side effect of the potion I used kept you alive, even without magic. After that I took you in and raised you as my own.”_ _ _ _

____Gretel stared in silence then sunk to the floor, tears slowly falling down her face. Bin never wished more that he could move, wishing to collapse himself. As the dream faded, the stench of sorrow surrounded him, and Bin woke up crying._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Bin cry, don't hate me. Next chapter will be much more Astro-centric. Thank you so much for reading, leave any comments, predictions, complaints, etc. down below! I will read them all. :) As always, I will see all you lovely people next time!


	5. Dongmin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin is is a mess. Dongmin tries to help, but breaks in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait! I got super busy between trying to help clean my hoarder grandparent's house and rehearsals for two separate shows. Also, I apologize for lying. This is angsty AF. But it will get happy eventually! Just not this chapter. So uh, I'm sorry and I hope you enjoy? (Don't hurt me. I blame listening to Heathers. That show makes me feel emotional and angsty.)

Dongmin was woken by shifting next to him. Opening his eyes, his eyes came into focus to see Bin looking restless in his sleep. Frowning, Dongmin re-tightened his hold around Bin in an attempt to comfort him. He wished he could be more useful, he felt so helpless. Throughout this entire ordeal, he has been able to do next to nothing for Bin, except sit and watch as he dealt with these dreams on his own. 

The dreams… he wasn’t really sure what to make of them. He still didn’t quite understand what had happened in the first one, other than the horrible sensations Bin had described and that any mention of it made Bin clam up. As for the second one, it at least hadn’t left Bin retching and panicking. Though once again Bin’s descriptions had been a bit all over the place and somewhat hard to follow. From what Bin had said the potion should be the answers to his questions, but what were the questions? 

That was the heart of the problem. Dongmin had no idea what was so important for Bin to learn that he felt it justified to take such a big risk. He’d asked, but Bin just laughed it off and avoided the question. It hurt a bit that Bin didn’t want to tell him. They normally were able to share everything, even the stuff that they weren’t willing to tell the others.

Suddenly, Bin went very stiff and startled Dongmin out of his reverie. Looking at him once again, Dongmin was shocked to find tears running down Bin’s cheeks. Before Dongmin could do anything though, Bin woke up. His eyes sprung open and stared wide eyed at seemingly nothing. Dongmin shook him lightly.

“Bin, are you alright? Look at me.” Bin’s eyes shifted and locked with Dongmin’s. There was a moment of complete silence, before Bin grabbed Dongmin with enough force to make his ribs feel like they were being bruised. He was crying harder than Dongmin had ever seen him cry before. At a loss for what to do, Dongmin just held Bin tightly and whispered comforting words to try and calm him down. 

“Shh, it’s alright, I’m right here. You’re safe, it was a dream; it wasn’t real.” Dongmin cooed softly. Bin only cried impossibly harder and buried his face into Dongmin’s chest. 

At this point Bin’s loud wailing had woken everyone else and they came barreling into the room. 

“What happened, is everything okay?” Myungjun exclaimed as he burst into the room. JinJin pushed past him to the bed where Dongmin had managed to get them to sit up, which was a feat with how hard Bin was clinging to him. Looking between the two, JinJin seemed to understand what had happened. 

“Another dream?” He asked.

“Yeah, I think it was worse than the first one. I’m not sure though, he hasn’t calmed down enough to say anything.” JinJin nodded. 

“What’s wrong with Bin-hyung?” Sanha tentatively asked. JinJin shot a look at Dongmin before responding.

“He’s been having trouble with bad dreams lately.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell us?”

“Moonbin didn’t want to worry anyone.”

“Is this the real reason he threw up the other day?” Minhyuk broke in, a calculating look on his face.

“…Yeah.” Minhyuk frowned a bit. He looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it. 

By this point Bin’s crying had grown less hysterical, though he was still refusing to talk or let go of Dongmin. 

“Alright, everyone, let’s leave them alone. There’s nothing we can do and we are probably just overwhelming him. I’ll let the manager know, just join us when Moonbin is feeling better.” JinJin sighed, directing the last part at Dongmin. After they left the room with some resistance from Myungjun and an odd glance from Minhyuk, Dongmin and Bin were left alone once again. 

“Hey… Binnie. How are you doing?” He asked quietly. Bin just shook his head and remained silent. Sighing, Dongmin adjusted them so they were sitting more comfortably. Planting a quick kiss on the top of Bin’s head he settled down for a long wait.

  


* * *

  


Eventually Dongmin managed to drag Bin down to rehearsal, but he was getting really worried. Bin had yet to say a single word, and he was being decidedly clingy. He even ended up sitting out of rehearsal and just watching. The staff had taken one look at him and decided that he wasn’t in the condition for it. 

At dinner, Bin had claimed the seat next to Dongmin and only pushed the food around his plate. Fed up and worried, Dongmin decided to take matters into his own hands. Picking up his chopsticks, he grabbed some food off Bin’s plate and held it in front of his mouth. Bin’s expression finally changed and he looked at Dongmin in confusion. 

“If you aren’t going to eat for yourself, I’m going to do it for you. Now eat.” Dongmin ordered. For a second, he worried that Bin would just ignore him, but to his relief Bin leaned forward and took the food, chewing slowly. Dongmin continued feeding him until the plate was clean. Any other day he knows the other members would have made fun of him, but they said nothing, merely watching in worry and silence. 

They’d tried on several occasions to get Bin into a conversation, but they never received anything beyond a face or a head shake as an answer. Whatever Bin had dreamed was seriously getting to him. Dongmin made a decision. Regardless of whether he wanted to or not, he was going to get Bin to talk to him tonight. 

  


* * *

  


That night after getting ready for bed, Dongmin once again found Bin and himself on his bed, cuddling. Sticking close to him had been the only thing Bin had actively tried to do all day. As much as Dongmin enjoyed the thought that he served as a source of comfort for Bin, he realized that there was probably more to the clinginess than simple affection. Out of all the possibilities, Dongmin decided that somehow he was the cause for Bin’s current state. 

Why that was so, on the other hand, was a matter he had yet to figure out. The dreams seemed to be the active cause for concern, but as far as he knew the dreams so far had nothing to do with him. Maybe this most recent dream had been different? He had to find out. How else was he supposed to help Bin? He promised to support him no matter what. 

With that in mind, Dongmin forced the two of them to sit up. Bin finally made a noise, a grunt of confusion and discomfort as his silent curl against Dongmin was ended.

“Binnie. You need to tell me what’s wrong.” Bin stiffened and started shaking his head. “Bin, come on you know bottling it up will just be worse for you in the end. Or do you plan to be a silent lump the rest of your life?” Bin just kept shaking his head. Dongmin sighed. “Come on Bin, you can tell me. I want to help you. I can’t do that if I have no idea what’s upsetting you.”

“…no.” Bin mumbled, so quietly Dongmin wondered if he imagined it.

“What was that?”

“No.”

“Oh come on, you can tell me.”

“NO.”

“Bin-”

“I SAID NO!” Silence followed his exclamation. Then Dongmin huffed in frustration. 

“Fine, if you don’t want to talk about it, then I’m going to tell you what I think.” Bin looked startled. “You had a dream again last night, and it was a bad one. That much is pretty obvious. From there it’s much more unclear, seeing as I have no idea _what _you dreamed about. Let’s take some guesses shall we?” Bin tensed, but Dongmin only gripped him harder. “The most obvious direction would be a continuation of what you’ve seen so far, with Alice and the little girl. But something doesn’t sit right about that being the full story. Why would that put you in such a catatonic state? And what in particular does it have to do with me?”__

__“Min-”_ _

__“Don’t think I didn’t notice. As much as I love you being so close to me, I can tell there is a deeper reason behind it. Something happened in that dream that somehow relates to me, and that’s what really has you freaked out. But I don’t know what it could be. What could possibly connect me to those earlier dreams? Either your dreams suddenly switched subject matter or there is something you never told me.” Bin remained silent. “Which is it Bin? Did you dreams suddenly change? Did you see the future or something?”_ _

__“What? No-”_ _

__“Then that means you haven’t told me everything there is to these dreams.”_ _

__“No I-”_ _

__“Do not lie to me Bin. Keeping it to yourself is just going to make it hurt more, and I can’t let you do that to yourself.”_ _

__“I can’t tell you!”_ _

__“Why not? Do you not trust me?”_ _

__“That’s not it!”_ _

__“Then why Bin? Why can’t you tell me?”_ _

__“Because I don’t want to hurt you!” Bin all but yelled. Dongmin raised his eyebrows, then his face settled into a frown._ _

__“Bin, I promised you that no matter what happened or what you learned I would stay by your side. And I appreciate you trying to protect me, but if upsets you so much it’s probably something I should know about.”_ _

__“…”_ _

__“Come on Binnie, please.” Dongmin quietly pleaded._ _

__“…she smelled like you.” Dongmin sat a bit straighter, attention caught._ _

__“What?”_ _

__“Gretel, the little girl, didn’t have a smell. Like you.”_ _

__“And that upset you?”_ _

__“Not at first; not until…” Bin broke off, tears welling up in his eyes again._ _

__“Until what?” Dongmin gently encouraged._ _

__“Until last night.”_ _

__“And what happened?”_ _

__“…I found out why.” Dongmin stiffened in surprise. There was reason? Well, he supposed there would be. Now filled with a sense of trepidation, Dongmin rubbed Bin’s arm in a signal to continue. “She had no smell because… because…”_ _

__“Because?” Dongmin gulped. Bin looked him in the eyes with the saddest face Dongmin had ever seen in his life._ _

__“…because she was dead.”_ _

__Dongmin froze. …What? Did… he hear that right? She had no smell because she was… dead? But that would mean… but that’s impossible. There was no way he was dead. He had a heartbeat and everything. It was currently going far too fast. He forced himself to pay attention. Bin was crying again._ _

__“What do you mean?” Dongmin asked shakily, desperate for an explanation. So Bin continued his story, and as he sobbed through an explanation of what happened in his dream and about something called the Theory of Life and Magic, Dongmin felt himself grow colder and the world started taking on a muffled fuzzy feel. He could barely feel Bin in his arms and the wet spots forming on his clothes. Eventually, Bin was simply crying and clinging to him again. Even as Dongmin instinctively held him close, everything felt like it wasn’t actually happening, like he was simply a spectator. Dongmin never even realized his tears had joined Bin’s._ _

____

  


* * *

  


__That night, after crying himself to sleep, Bin dreamed again. Only this time, he didn’t find himself in the store. Instead he found himself in what appeared to be a small apartment. Sitting in chairs on either side of a table were Alice and Gretel, who couldn’t be called anything less than a woman now. Alice spoke first._ _

__“Are you sure about this?”_ _

__“…Yes.”_ _

__“You realize that this will probably end badly.”_ _

__“I’m going to chase what happiness I can get. No matter how temporary.” Gretel smiled sadly. Alice watched her for a minute, and then sighed in resignation._ _

__“Alright then. Just remember that I’m always there if you need me.”_ _

__“I know.” They both got up, and hugged as if it was the last time they would see each other. For all Bin knew, it was. They pulled apart and Alice headed for the door, pulling her hood up. She gave one last look back._ _

__“I love you. And I hope I’m wrong.”_ _

__“…Me too.” And Alice was gone, door clicking behind her. Only a few seconds later it opened again and Bin wondered if Alice came back, only to freeze as his brain short circuited._ _

__“Hey honey, who was that?”_ _

__“Just an old friend.” Gretel went forward and hugged the man who came through the door. He smiled, an all too familiar smile. Bin, unseen and unheard, finally managed to find the air to breathe out:_ _

__“…Dongmin?”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun DUN!!! Anyway, thanks for reading, I promise to try to have the next chapter up quicker! Leave any thoughts, critiques, or theories below! I enjoy reading them. :) I will see all you lovely people later!


	6. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin makes a discovery about himself, makes another trip to the bathroom, and decides he really likes zombies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo!!! I am back with a chapter that isn't made of angst! :D And hopefully some answers. Enjoy!
> 
> (Also, I figured out how line breaks work! ^.^)

Once over the initial shock, Bin had come to the realization that this was not, in fact, Dongmin. At least, not the one he knew. He was much too old; this man was clearly around thirty. But the resemblance was uncanny. It even caused Bin’s stomach to clench a bit when he bent down to give Gretel a kiss. Bin forced himself to focus when they started talking. 

“So how was your day? Did you take it easy?”

“Of course! You worry too much.” Gretel giggled. The man laughed. 

“Sorry, sorry, I just want to make sure nothing happens to you or our little Lily.” His hands slipped to her stomach. Bin jolted. She was pregnant? Was that possible? 

“Why are you so sure it’s a girl?”

“Anything is possible if you dream hard enough.” Gretel laughed.

“I was unaware that applied to gender as well.”

“It applies to everything.” They stood for a minute, smiling at each other, before Gretel seemed to remember something. 

“Oh! I did meet our new neighbors. They are quite sweet.”

“Oh? Maybe we should invite them over some time for dinner. It’s a newlywed couple right?”

“Yup, the Moons, isn’t that a lovely family name?”

“Hmm, I think I prefer ours.”

“Hanns!” Gretel smacked him lightly, but pulled him into a tight hug. “…Me too.”

.  
.  
.  
Once more Bin saw the room fade to black and he was left alone. He was still reeling a bit. Who was that man, Hanns? And why did he look like Dongmin? And was it possible for a dead person to make life? That seemed like it went against the laws of nature. Bin sighed. Once more he had more questions than answers. And so far he hadn’t liked the answers he’d gotten so far. 

Suddenly, his stomach dropped and he felt the room flip on its head, regardless of the fact that he could see nothing. Once the obnoxious flipping stopped and Bin stopped feeling like hurling, he found himself once more back in the apartment. Gretel was sitting on a couch, reading a book. Curled on her lap was a small toddler, fast asleep with long black hair in a mess. Hanns was on a separate chair, also reading, but from a newspaper. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. 

Frowning, Hanns folded the newspaper and stood to answer. The opened door revealed a frantic crying woman. Bin squinted at her. She seemed familiar, where had he seen her before? Gretel had gasped and carefully shifted the sleeping toddler into the nearby crib, making her way over. 

“Choon-hee, what’s wrong?” Choon-hee burst into more tears. Bin frowned and racked his brain. He knew that name. The more he stared at this woman the more familiar she seemed. 

“I don’t know what to do, the doctors said there is nothing they could do for him!”

“What? Is it that serious an illness?”

“The doctors can’t figure it out, it’s like he’s dying but there’s nothing causing it! He’s just an infant!” Gretel stilled. 

“What were his symptoms again? Describe them in detail, please.” Choon-hee gave her a strange look but complied.

“H-he is pale and clammy, bizarrely cold to the touch, and he has trouble breathing. He doesn’t even seem to have the energy to cry.” Gretel bit her lip, seemingly debating something. Finally she sighed and looked at Choon-hee sharply. 

“I… might be able to help. But you have to _swear _that you will never breathe a word of this to _anyone _or ever ask for favors like this again unless it is an absolute emergency.”____

___“Of course!” Choon-hee nodded fervently. “But what can you do? None of the doctors were able to figure out what was wrong with him.”_ _ _

___“That’s because medically there is nothing wrong with him.”_ _ _

___“Then what…?”_ _ _

___“If I’m correct, your son probably has a Nosoi attached to him.”_ _ _

___“A what?”_ _ _

___“A demon personification of pestilence and disease.” Choon-hee uttered a little shriek and her hand flew to her mouth. “I can get rid of it, but I need to prepare something. Go get him and bring him here.” Nodding, Choon-hee hurried back out the door, shutting it behind her._ _ _

___Quickly Gretel went further into the house and came back with some bottles filled with strange substances. Bin scrunched his nose against the sudden strong smell of magic. He recognized the bottle of Olfae magic, now almost empty. Hanns suddenly stepped forward with confusion written all over his face, and Bin startled. He had forgotten about him. His smell was rather plain, like flour. Right now it smelled slightly burned with agitation._ _ _

___“Gretel, what’s going on? What’s this about demons? And what are all these bottles?”_ _ _

___“These are ingredients for a dream potion.” She answered nervously._ _ _

___“What? Potion? Honey what are you talking about, magic and demons aren’t real!”_ _ _

___“I promise I will explain everything afterward,” Gretel gulped, “but for now I need to focus if I’m going to help this child. It’s been a while since I’ve done this.” Hanns just continued to stand there, mouth moving like a fish._ _ _

___Bin watched as Gretel slowly poured parts of the bottles together in a baby bottle, mumbling under her breath. The room was heavy with energy and the smell of magic. Bin had to breathe through his mouth and cover his nose. Then Gretel grabbed the bottle of Olfae magic and uncorked it. Rather than pouring it in like a liquid she coaxed it up out of the bottle with a wave of her hand and swirled it into the mixture, dancing it through the air. Bin heard a sharp intake of breath from Hanns and had to agree with the sentiment. Once all of the magic was in the bottle, Gretel placed both hands over it and started chanting in an unrecognizable language. The room became overpowered in magic and Bin gagged._ _ _

___Then, it all cleared and the room went back to normal, leaving Bin gasping for air, Gretel breathing somewhat heavily, and Hanns looking about to faint. On the table now sat a sparkling bottle of green liquid. Then the moment was broken with a hurried knock at the door._ _ _

___Gretel rushed over to open the door, revealing not only an anxious Choon-hee holding a small whimpering bundle but also a rather angry looking man. Bin gave a start and stared, mouth dropping open. He knew this man. And now he realized why he knew Choon-hee as well. But there was no way. There was no freaking way. Gretel ushered them in, but was quickly accosted by the man._ _ _

___“Now see here! What nonsense have you been filling my wife’s head with? There is no such things as demons and I refuse to have anything weird done to my son!”_ _ _

___“I understand, and that is your decision to make. But this is the only thing that can save your son. No doctor will be able to do anything. So either you trust me or lose your son. And isn’t that worth the risk?” Gretel responded in a steely tone._ _ _

___He struggled for words before slumping in defeat. He nodded._ _ _

___“What should we do now?” Choon-hee timidly asked._ _ _

___“Place him on the couch, and step back. I’ll take care of the rest.” Choon-hee did as she was told, and Gretel grabbed the bottle from the kitchen. Carefully, she walked towards the bundle, tense as if anticipating an attack. She reached him and kneelt, putting the bottle to his mouth and making him drink. Suddenly the room started shaking, and a powerful wind filled the air, knocking things over and shattering the now empty bottles in the kitchen. The toddler in the crib woke up and started crying. A cut appeared on Gretel’s face and her hair was flying everywhere._ _ _

___Unfazed she continued feeding the baby and a rotten stench started filling the room. Bin once more found it hard to breathe, and he felt sick to his stomach. He briefly wondered what would happen if he threw up in a dream. The last bit of potion emptied out of the bottle, and everything went eerily still. Then a black miasma shot out of the baby and clouded at the ceiling. Then it shot at Gretel, attempting to enter her. But it simply slid around her, swirling desperately. She smirked, and once more spoke in a strange language. The demon writhed and faded, rotten smell fading with it._ _ _

___Once it was gone completely, Gretel let out a sigh and collapsed, tension draining from her form. Then she smiled and picked up the small bundle now crying on the couch and walked over to the stunned parents standing in the middle of the living room._ _ _

___“Here you go, one baby boy, healthy and free of demons. Though uh, there might be some minor side effects from having all that magic in his system. Nothing harmful, but just try to take any strangeness in stride.” Choon-hee silently took the baby, who’s crying had quieted to sniffles, unlike the still crying toddler in the corner. The two parents stared in silence, looking at their baby, who now had a healthy color to his face and was grabbing at his mother’s loose hair. Then they both rushed forward and pulled her into a group hug, sobbing their thanks._ _ _

___“Thank you. We could never repay you for what you’ve done.”_ _ _

___“It’s nothing! Just remember that you swore to tell no one, and maybe stop by with a batch of those cookies you made last week.” The Moons pulled back._ _ _

___“Done. I’d be willing to bring you cookies every day for the rest of my life.” Choon-hee said. Gretel laughed._ _ _

___“I don’t need that many cookies! I’m just happy it went well and everyone is fine.”_ _ _

___“No, we will never be able to express enough what you’ve done for us. For our little Bin.”_ _ _

___Gretel just smiled, and Bin woke up._ _ _

  


* * *

  


___As soon as Bin woke up he rolled off the bed, startling Dongmin who had fallen asleep around him, and once more found himself rushing to the bathroom toilet. At least this time he wasn’t having a panic attack, though his mind was reeling. One problem at a time though. Someone patted his back, sparking a note of déjà vu._ _ _

___“Are you alright?” Dongmin asked, clearly half asleep still._ _ _

___“Yeah, demons just smell really bad.” Dongmin made a befuddled noise._ _ _

___“Demons?”_ _ _

___“Yeah, kind of a long story, but I’ll get to that. Minnie I saw myself! And you, except it wasn’t really you, and GOD it smelled so bad. I’m going to remember that smell for weeks.”_ _ _

___“Wait, hold up I’m really not following. It’s only 5 am, no one else should be up yet. Let’s go back to the room and you can explain it to me.” Bin nodded, and after rinsing out his mouth they headed back to their room, sitting and facing each other cross-legged on Dongmin’s bed. Bin proceeded to explain every little detail of what happened in the dream, up to and including his realization that Gretel was the reason for his being part Olfae._ _ _

___“Like, I actually met her! My parents were _friends _with her!”___ _ _

_____“It certainly brings a certain sense of reality that I didn’t really feel before.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“I wonder why I never met her though. She apparently was my next door neighbor and eternal savior.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“Maybe she moved. Or something happened where she had to drop out of contact. It happens.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“Hmm… still.” Silence fell for a minute, before Bin timidly cleared his throat. “By the way, how are you, you know, feeling? You seem better than yesterday.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“I could say the same to you.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“I asked first!” Bin huffed. Dongmin let out a little laugh before his face turned thoughtful._ _ _ _ _

_____“…I’m better. I thought about it a lot last night after you went to sleep and the initial shock wore off, and I decided that it’s not something that I need to stress over. I can’t change what I am, and it’s not like it has proven to be very limiting. So what if I don’t have magic? So what if I’m apparently some sort of abomination according to the laws of nature? Nothing has tried to kill me over it, I’ve lived my life like any other person; I’m still me. I have a heartbeat. I have my own thoughts and dreams.” He looked Bin straight in the eye, a blush painting his cheeks. “I still have feelings.” Bin’s heart was pounding and he felt a blush of his own forming, only to heat further when Dongmin smiled. “Plus Gretel seemed to find love and happiness, why can’t I?”_ _ _ _ _

_____Bin felt like his brain was mush and his heart had made a home in his throat, but he managed to choke out, “I think that is definitely a possibility.” Dongmin shifted closer, eyes trained on his again. Bin could feel the heat of Dongmin’s hands as they fell onto his knees._ _ _ _ _

_____“Is that so? What do you think my chances are?” Dongmin’s face was far too close. Bin felt like he was going to go cross-eyed trying to keep him in focus. Bin licked his lips and saw Dongmin’s gaze flick down before returning to his eyes._ _ _ _ _

_____“I’d say pretty high…” Bin breathed. And then Dongmin’s lips were on his and Bin slid his eyes closed. After a few seconds they pulled apart and just stared at each other. Then Bin broke the silence. “Oh God I’m in love with a zombie.” Dongmin shoved him over and laughed. Then he bent down to give another quick peck._ _ _ _ _

_____“Deal with it fairy boy, because this dead man walking loves you too.”_ _ _ _ _

_____And Bin decided he could live with that._ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Fluff! *throws confetti* That's not the end though, we still got a few more chapters! So keep those seat belts fastened!
> 
> Anyway, I hadn't actually planned to write that last scene in this chapter, but Bin and Dongmin got impatient lol. Also! I have some random factoids about this chapter!
> 
> 1\. Hanns' name is based off of Hanns Dudeldee, a fairy tale by Albert Ludewig Grimm also known as the fisherman and his wife. That may or may not be important. ;)  
>  2\. I used Jinwoo's drink color because a) he will never drink a potion. Ever. And b) because the description for it literally has the words "healing power" in it. It was too perfect.  
>  3.Because I won't be able to explain it anywhere else, the reason the nosoi couldn't get to Gretel was because she had no life for it to attack.  
>  4\. In defense of Bin, look at a picture of your parents from like 20 years ago and tell me that at first glance you would recognize them without being aware of who they were already.
> 
> That's all! Thank so much for reading and I will see all you lovely people in the next chapter!


	7. The Final Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greed is the fall of man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm so sorry for the super long break, I've been absolutely swamped, and time escaped me. The show I'm in opens in two weeks, so I've had non-stop rehearsals. As such, I've had next to no time to sit down and write this. But rehearsal let out early today, so I finally managed it! This chapter is hella angsty, sorry. Also it has an action scene, which I've never written before, so forgive me if it's not the best; and this has only minor editing, so feel free to point out mistakes. Anyway, Enjoy!

Jinwoo and Myungjun were staring, faces scrunched in scrutiny; Bin was currently playing with Dongmin’s fingers; Minhyuk and Sanha were at school; and Dongmin? Dongmin was simply enjoying the situation. They were in the living room cuddled on the couch, when Jinwoo and Myungjun had walked in to find them playing hands. Their confusion combined with the intimacy with Bin just made Dongmin want to giggle.

“So… would you like to explain what is happening?” Jinwoo finally asked. Bin looked over with a wide innocent smile.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“What do we mean?! This! What is this?! Yesterday you were emotional wrecks and now you’re acting like that gag-worthy couple in high school hallways!” Myungjun exclaimed.

“Ah. Well, Minnie and I decided to start dating.”

“You weren’t already?” Myungjun asked, only to be elbowed by Jinwoo.

“What he means is, that wasn’t what we were asking about. What’s with the rapid mood swing? Not that I’m complaining.” 

“You thought we were dating?” Dongmin asked, frowning slightly.

“Let’s just say we aren’t surprised. That’s not the point. What happened?” Both Dongmin and Bin looked at each other with hesitation. Jinwoo noticed. “We aren’t leaving without an explanation. And you promised to keep us informed.” Sighing, Dongmin nodded and nudged Bin and himself into a more proper sitting position. Jinwoo and Myungjun sat in front of them on the floor, and waited for them to start. Dongmin gave a comforting hand squeeze, and Bin proceeded to explain his recent dreams.

After he was finished, Jinwoo’s face was serious and Myungjun’s was scrunched in confusion. The latter spoke first.

“So wait, neither of you are human?” Dongmin snorted.

“We’re _mostly _human. Just a little different.”__

“Whatever, I’m using this as pun material, be prepared.”

“Of course that’s your take away.” Bin muttered under his breath. Myungjun’s ears were apparently pretty sharp and he heard the comment anyway. That or he had an instinctual knowledge of when someone was talking about him. 

“That’s the important part.” He retorted. Bin opened his mouth to respond when Jinwoo interrupted.

“Okay, so while I’m glad you two are happy and have some answers, I think you are ignoring some important questions. For starters, who is Hanns? And why does he look identical to Eunwoo?”

“I have no idea. I was focused on the fact that _my baby self was being possessed by a demon _.” Bin deadpanned.__

“Couldn’t it just be coincidence? They say there are seven people in the world who look just like you.” Dongmin offered. Jinwoo gave him an exasperated look.

“You really think that it’s coincidence? After everything that’s happened?”

“Why not! Statistically it _is _possible.”__

“Fine! Even though literally _everything else was connected _, this one major detail is totally coincidence. Whatever floats your boat!”__

____

“Fine!” Dongmin and Jinwoo both sat glaring at each other. Myungjun and Bin shared a look, and then Myungjun grabbed Jinwoo’s arm and started hauling him up. 

“Hey wha-?” Jinwoo started. 

“I think we all need some space. Let’s go.” Myungjun stated, and dragged Jinwoo away into their room. Once the door was shut, Bin turned to Dongmin in trepidation. 

“…Minnie, you do realize that Jinwoo has a point.”

“…I know. I just, I didn’t really want to dwell on it right now. We are happy as we are, does it really matter who he was? Or what he has to do with me?”

“It might. I will love you regardless, but aren’t you curious?”

“No! Not in the slightest!”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m scared Binnie!” Bin blinked in surprise, and opened his mouth to respond, but Dongmin wasn’t done. It was like a dam had been broken. “Pretty much every time I’ve been curious about myself it leaves me miserable! Why don’t I have a smell? Oh, it’s because I’m not really alive! Why do I not find girls attractive like the rest of my classmates? It’s because I’m gay and any hope I have of falling in love will have to be kept hidden until our damn society stops treating it like the plague! Why don’t I look like my parents? Turns out I’m adopted! How fun! My original parents are either dead or didn’t want me!” Dongmin started bitterly laughing until it turned into broken sobs. 

Bin sat frozen at Dongmin’s outburst, unsure of what to say. What could he say? So instead of speaking, he simply held Dongmin close and mumbled words of love and comfort into his ear until his crying quieted and they fell asleep intertwined on the couch.  


  


* * *

  
Bin looked around and found himself once more in the apartment. Crap, he must have fallen asleep. The atmosphere was very different from the last time he was here. It felt cold, and the room smelled dusty, like it hadn’t been cleaned in a while. Looking around, there was still a toddler crib in the corner, so not too much time had passed. But the place felt empty, like no one lived there.

This assumption was proven wrong when Gretel came into the room from the door she had previously gotten the bottles from. Bin was startled to see her carrying a suitcase and sporting some concealed bruises. Holding her hand was the young toddler from before, now a little older. Gretel pulled the little one with her as she made her way to the door. 

Just as she was about to reach it however, the door smashed open. There stood Hanns, looking disheveled and downright pissed. If Bin had been startled by the change in the apartment and Gretel, he was outright scared by the change in Hanns. 

Gone was the loving family man from before. His eyes had taken on a slightly wild, cruel gleam, and his face was twisted in anger. No longer was he looking at Gretel in gentle adoration. Instead it was like he wasn’t even seeing her at all. He stepped forward menacingly, and Gretel pushed their child further behind her.

“And where do you think you are going?”

“Let us leave Hanns.”

“Certainly, just give me what I want first.”

“For the last time, I am not making you a potion!”

“And why not?! Don’t you see? With your abilities we could be incredible! We would never have to worry about anything, and nothing would mess with us!”

“That’s not what they are supposed to be used for! And taking any more than one could be extremely unpredictable. Besides, I told you already I am out of ingredients!”

“Well we can just get more!”

“I refuse! Even if I had the ingredients I would refuse to make you one. The powers of my potions are to help people reach their dreams, not for megalomaniacs to control and abuse!”

They got louder and louder as they shouted, and eventually the toddler hiding behind Gretel started crying. Hanns snarled.

“Can’t you shut that thing up?”

“That _‘thing’ _is your son!”__

__“Well make him stop making that racket!”_ _

__“What happened to you Hanns? You weren’t like this before! You were kind, and loving! I wish I’d never let you see me make a potion!”_ _

__“Why? It was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen!”_ _

__“Because it turned you into someone I can barely stomach to look at!” Hanns’ face turned stony at her exclamation._ _

__“Make me a potion, Gretel.”_ _

__“No,” she spit._ _

__“I said MAKE ME A POTION.”_ _

__“Not if it killed me!”_ _

__Hanns let out a roar and charged forward, smacking Gretel full force to the floor. The young son gave out a small scream and started crying harder. Gretel glared up at Hanns before tackling his legs, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing into their glass coffee table. It shattered under his weight, but he sat up quickly, barely damaged. He lunged at Gretel and slammed her under him into the glass._ _

__They continued to wrestle in the shattered remains of their table, wailing filling the room like a sick orchestral backing. Bin’s mouth was open in an almost scream as he watched the scene unfold. Gretel managed to get Hanns under her, attempting to pin him to the floor. He let out a primeval growl and grabbed a shard of the glass. Bin tried to shout, give warning, _something _, but he was too late and Gretel let out a scream.___ _

____Bin watched in horror as she tumbled off of Hanns, clutching her stomach that was slowly staining the color red. Hanns was staring in shock, and sensing an opportunity, Gretel grabbed her son and stumbled toward the door. Hanns snapped back to his senses and attempted to go after her._ _ _ _

____“STOP!” Bin screamed._ _ _ _

____And he did. Hanns froze and looked right where Bin was, though he looked right through him. In his distraction Gretel made it out the door and was gone. Vanished. Hanns let out desperate cry and the world around Bin shifted._ _ _ _

____Just like before the world faded to black. Unlike before however, the world shifted sideways jerkily. It continued to bounce in all different directions, like whatever was controlling it was breaking down and drunk. Bin stumbled in disorientation and closed his eyes to try and not hurl. Once the world stopped feeling like a rodeo, Bin opened his eyes and found himself at the dream store, now looking just like when he had seen it in person. Except, it still just smelled like a building._ _ _ _

____Before he could wrap his head around what was happening, the door once more slammed open. Only this time, instead of an angry Hanns a broken Gretel fell through the door, joined by a still crying child. A separate door burst open and Alice came hurtling out, gasping when she saw Gretel._ _ _ _

____She hurried forward and dropped to the floor, pulling Gretel into her lap._ _ _ _

____“Oh no, oh no no no, my poor baby hang in there.”_ _ _ _

____“…Hey mom. G-gue,” Gretel struggled to breathe in. “Guess I… should have listened.” She gave an attempt at a smile. Alice seemed to break, tears silently falling down her face. Even the toddler’s crying had turned quiet, though just as heavy. “Take…take care of my boy yeah? He’s your grandson.”_ _ _ _

____“No, no you’re not going anywhere. Not if I can help it.” Alice got up with determination, gently laying Gretel down on the floor and running to her back room. The door hadn’t even closed before she was back out, holding bottles of various shades and make. She all but started throwing the ingredients into a bottle. Bin covered his mouth as she started focusing her magic. It was stronger than anything he had ever smelled before. It was like every smell but none at the same time. It flowed from brimstone to a damp forest. From the smell of the sea to what Bin imagined stars smelled like. It choked him and seemed to make the very air shudder._ _ _ _

____Then it died to almost nothing and Alice rushed to Gretel’s side again holding the bottle to her lips._ _ _ _

____“But… you don’t… know what will happen.” Gretel feebly protested._ _ _ _

____“Save you.” And then Alice made her drink, and the universe seemed to explode._ _ _ _

____Bin faintly made out screaming, unsure if it was Gretel, him, or the world itself. Everything seemed the shatter into a million pieces and magic was everywhere. Bin felt like he was a rubix cube being shuffled. He was unable to make out anything besides sheer color; the world went white, and then there was nothing at all._ _ _ _

____Bin felt something under his feet. Floor? He waited until his other senses stopped spinning before slowly forcing his eyes open. When the spots faded, he found himself still in the shop, the same smell of magic flowing everywhere around him. He wanted to gag, but his attention was brought to Alice, sitting on the floor with her grandson sleeping on her lap. There was no sign of Gretel._ _ _ _

____Alice let out a shuttering sigh, before looking up._ _ _ _

____“Well, not exactly what I expected to happen. I guess two potions designed to save in one person was a bit risky. I’m sorry this was the best I could do.” The building seemed to shudder, and Bin’s eyes widened. _No way. _The building gave another shudder, and Alice looked down at the sleeping child.___ _ _ _

______“I know, he’s been through a lot. I don’t know what to do. No child should be forced to go through what he has.” The bottles clinked. Alice looked up at the roof sadly. “Are you sure? It means we won’t see him again.” A creak. Alice sighed. “You’re right. It’s probably for the best.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______She got up, picking up the sleeping toddler and carrying him over to the wall of bottles. Looking carefully, she gently grabbed a light blue bottle. It seemed fogged up, like the glass had frozen over. Alice cooed the boy awake, and offered him the bottle. As if in a daze he started drinking, promptly falling back asleep when the bottle was empty._ _ _ _ _ _

______“There. Now he won’t remember a thing. Not you, me, or anything else. A completely fresh start.” She planted a kiss to the black locks, and the building seemed to droop. Alice went into her back room again, coming back with a simple silver hand mirror. She said something, once again in a language indistinguishable to Bin. The mirror seemed to flash, and Alice gave a sad smile. “Yes, they’ll do.” She put the mirror down and headed for the door._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Alright, young man, let’s get you to your new life. I hope it goes better than this one.” She opened the door, only instead of a street a dark living room was on the other side. She moved forward and laid him on the couch, bundling him in a nearby blanket and placing a letter from seemingly out of nowhere onto him. She continued to watch the small boy breathe for a minute, smoothing his hair. Then, she bent forward and gave a final kiss to his head, whispering as she pulled away:_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Goodbye Dongmin.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______And the world went black.  
_ _ _ _ _ _

* * *

______  
Bin woke up with gentle tears on his face and a worried Dongmin looming over him. Bin stared for what seemed like ages, before slowly sitting up and wrapping Dongmin in a tight hug. Bin didn’t wail, he didn’t panic; he simply tightened his hold and silently grieved for the life dealt to the boy he loved._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did any of you guess it right? :)
> 
> The next update will be the last one, and it will be a little shorter. After that we jump into Socky! Which is so radically different from the other two that it's almost a bit mood-whiplash-y. It will be weird and cute, just like the two youngest! I'll also start publishing that Myungjun fic I mentioned ages ago. I actually have several chapters written of it already, so it should have a relatively quick, steady update schedule. 
> 
> On a completely separate note I hella love musicals and if you also love musicals you should check out Be More Chill because it's amazing. 
> 
> Anyhoo. Thank you so much for reading, leave any comments or critiques, and I will see all you lovely people in the last chapter!


	8. The Satisfaction of the Cat's Curiosity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I would like to offer the deepest apology for the long unexpected hiatus. I had some rather large things suddenly happen in my family, and I wasn't really in a good head space for writing. But things are much better now, so I'm doing my best to get back into it! Thank you so much for your patience and all the support I received on this story. It really helped. ^.^ Anyways, I'll have updates for future fic plans at the end, so give that a check if you would like. Enjoy the last chapter!

Dongmin had listened patiently through Bin’s recounting, never making a sound. As he listened, his face got increasingly stonier. Eventually, he was staring harshly at the wall behind Bin, processing.

“Minnie? You okay?” Bin asked after several minutes of tense silence.

“…I don’t know.”

“Well, then… um, what are you thinking?”

“That I hate being right,” Dongmin answered flatly, though there was a distinct catch in his voice that betrayed his emotions. Bin seemed to deflate.

“Oh Dongmin…” Bin scooted closer and layed his head on Dongmin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I just… am feeling a lot right now.”

“Maybe talking about it will help?”

“Maybe.” But he remained silent, continuing to stare at the wall. 

“Minnie?” Bin tried, but received no answer. He opened his mouth to try again, when he was abruptly cut off by Dongmin.

“I really wanted to be wrong, you know? I really wanted the story to end there.” Bin shut his mouth and let Dongmin continue. “No matter how much my logical side was telling me that there had to be more to it, I wanted to leave it well enough alone. So I pushed aside any suspicions I had, any inklings as to why I looked like him, and tried to ignore it. But I guess no matter how much I want it to be otherwise, I’m doomed to be followed by tragedy. Now I’m stuck with the knowledge that I look exactly like the man who _murdered my mother _.” He let out a bitter laugh. “I’m stuck with never getting a happy ending.”__

Silence once again followed, before Bin sat straight up and grabbed Dongmin by the collar and pulling him in close harshly. Dongmin’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wha-?”

“Lee Dongmin you listen here, and you listen good. What happened to you and your family is tragic. No one should ever have to go through that. But I refuse to let you think that that is the end. Your family isn’t gone. Though they might not be in a state to be able to care for you, Alice and your mother clearly love you very much. Your adopted family loves you. Your friends and band mates love you. _I _love you. So, so much. You aren’t some harbinger of doom. You inspire love and happiness in those around you. And with you in my life, I have the best ending of all.” Bin finished his lecture with a bright smile, eyes growing teary. For a while, Dongmin just stared at him, mouth gaping. Then, he leaned forward and pulled Bin into a tight hug.__

“…thank you.”  
  


* * *

  
“Bin, are you sure this will work?” Dongmin asked as they made their way down the street. It had been about a week since Bin’s final dream. He never had another one after that, so they felt it was safe to presume that they were finished. Dongmin couldn’t tell if Bin was happy about it or not. Though currently he seemed positively chipper.

“Positive, I made the store- oh, uh, your mom, promise to let me back.”

“Oh God, I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” Dongmin gulped. Bin stopped and turned to Dongmin, grabbing his shoulders. 

“We don’t have to do this right now. If you need more time we can wait.”

“…No, I don’t think I’ll ever really be ready. And I- I want to meet them. I might not remember them, but they’re family right?”

“…Alright.” Bin squeezed his shoulder and kept walking down the street. When they reached the spot Bin disappeared from before Bin stopped and inhaled deeply. Then he shouted as loud as he could, “HEY ALICE! LET US IN YOUR GRANDSON WANTS TO MEET YOU!” Dongmin hid his face in his hands.

“THAT was your sure-fire way to get us there?”

“Well it’s not like I got in by myself the first time. They have to come to us. Oh wait, I forgot.” He pulled out the mask Alice had given him and put it on. They waited a few minutes before Dongmin turned with a sigh. 

“I don’t think it worked. Come on, let’s go-” He stopped as he looked around the street and realized that everyone else had vanished. And that he had no idea where they were. Dongmin spun around, eyes wide. Bin laughed at his expression. 

“I told you, fool-proof! Now, let’s go, it’s up ahead.” Bin grabbed his hand and started dragging. Dongmin started to feel like his insides were twisting. Before he could get his stomach to settle down he was suddenly thrust through a door under a rainbow sign. He found himself in a cozy café filled with foliage and a wall of bizarre bottles. It was just like Bin described. Said person was clearly scrunching his face in distaste behind his mask. 

Dongmin looked around slowly. The place felt… nostalgic. He felt like he had definitely been here before, though he still had no memory of it. It certainly lent some credibility to the whole thing. It’s not that he didn’t believe Bin, the whole thing was just hard to wrap his mind around. 

As he tried to wrestle his thoughts a door near the rear of the store opened and a petite woman stepped out and tentatively walked forward. Her eyes were wide and wary, inspecting them carefully.

“Hello Alice!” Bin greeted cheerfully. “I told you I’d be back! And I brought someone I think you’ve been missing for a long time.” He paused and gestured at Dongmin, who was desperately trying to place the woman in front of him who screamed familiarity. No matter how hard he tried it was as if there was an invisible wall blocking him. Bin continued, “Alice, this is Dongmin. Minnie, meet your grandmother.” 

Alice froze at the sound of Dongmin’s name and Dongmin stared uncertainly at Alice. Unsure of what to do, he offered a timid smile. The very air in the room seemed to be still, not a single creak or noise permeated the space. Alice slowly moved toward him, unblinking and possibly unbreathing, he couldn’t quite tell past his own current difficulty with breathing. She reached him and extended a trembling hand toward his face and gingerly touched his cheek, searching his eyes. 

“It’s really you…” she breathed, and then she was hugging Dongmin, head buried in his chest. On instinct he hugged back tightly, burying his own head in her hair. Something about it just seemed right. There was a large creak from the building around them, accompanied by the sound of clinking glasses. Alice pulled back and looked up. Dongmin trained his eyes up as well, and swallowed a lump in his throat. He stepped away and moved toward the middle of the shop before putting on a strained smile. 

“…Hello mother.”

And suddenly the walls were creaking, leaves were rustling, and the bottles seemed in danger of falling with how much they were moving and clinking. The shop filled with a cacophony of noises. Then, it struck Dongmin. The shop was crying. Crying from happiness, from sadness, and from everything that never was. Crying for him. 

And then he was crying too. Large, mournful sobs were wrenched from his throat, and he felt like a little kid again. Crying because he was scared. Because he was sad. Because he wanted his mother.

The shatter of glass pierced through the air, and suddenly Dongmin was on his knees as scenes flooded his head. There were visions of yelling, of blood and anger. But behind these terrible memories were soft smiles, gentle kisses, and the feeling of being surrounded by warmth. For every bad moment a joyful one took its place. All he could see was a smiling woman with long dark hair, radiating comfort and love. 

As he managed to calm down and wrangle his thoughts towards the present, he realized that the warmth that surrounded him was still there. He looked to find himself wrapped in a hug from Bin. He let out a small smile and returned the hug. With tears now streaming silently down his face, he felt loved.

.  
.  
.  
Later, after everyone had calmed down and cleaned themselves up, they continued to chat into the evening. Dongmin listened to tales of his mother growing up, and some of the more memorable customers that they had gotten. It turns out Myungjun had made the list, much to Bin’s amusement. As he cackled in the background Dongmin explained to a bemused Alice that they were all in the same band together. She let out a snort.

Eventually, Bin and Dongmin had to leave. They left with hugs, promises to come back soon, and a promise to apologize to Myungjun and Jinwoo. And to possibly bring them along sometime. It wasn’t until they were walking home that something occurred to Bin.

“I wonder why you suddenly got your memories back.”

“Dunno. It was rather overwhelming, so I don’t really remember what was going on around me.”

“All I know is one minute you’re crying and then something breaks and you’re on the floor. Freaked the crap out of me.”

“Something broke?”

“Yeah, sounded like glass. Wonder what it was.”

“Who knows? We can ask next time we go over.” 

Bin gave him a grin. Then he leaned in and quickly gave Dongmin a peck on the cheek, immediately running away afterwards. Dongmin let out a surprised “Hey!” and started running after his boyfriend. As they raced and Dongmin listened to Bin’s bright laughter, he couldn’t help but laugh and smile wide. He didn’t know how his story would end, but with Bin there, he was unable to be anything but optimistic.  
  


* * *

  
As her grandchild and his boyfriend left the shop, Alice let out a long sigh. That was a lot for one day. The sound of wood settling reached her ears. She smiled up.

“Looks like even I can be wrong.” Gretel responded in a creak that seemed like laughter. Alice grinned wider, then left to walk to the back room. 

On the floor were dusty shards of glass. She carefully collected all the pieces, and placed them lovingly in a small wooden box. Then she placed it on the shelf next to a box that had only been put there about a week ago. She watched as the box carved itself and made to match the one next to it. She let out a huff of laughter. What was she going to do with those two? She gave the pair one last smile and then quietly left the room. 

“ _Loving Curiosity _” – Moon Bin__

“ _Satisfaction of Love _” – Lee Dongmin__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end! Thank you so much for sticking with me, I hope it was enjoyable! As always, If you have any questions, comments, or critiques I would love to hear them! I'll have the first chapter of a Myungjin fic up within the next couple days, shortly followed by the last installment of this series, Socky! My plan/goal is to update each of them once a week. I have some chapters written already for both, so I should have a pretty good buffer to keep the updates consistent if something unexpected pops up. Thank you again, and I will see all of you lovelies next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear any thoughts you have, so feel free to leave a comment! See all you lovely people later!


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